CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[coolcorals]

My system may not be too much different than your. That's is one of the issues I have with what I was shipped. I did not get the latest version of the tank that has the glass inside the overflow and the flow slots in the bottom of the overflow.

Yes, we have the same tank, but I think different accessories. I think I have more of an issue with accessories vs. tank. As with most, I had the broken parts and frustration over lack of a packing list.

This thread and the posters have been very helpful. My initial posts were to ArtC over a year ago!

Drain and return PVC were way too short, plus replaced return pump, skimmer and LED transformer for not working properly. Had the common sump bubble problem (resolved). Guess my only current issues is the bottom lip.

I guess not too bad overall. Lots of lessons learned. I wasn't happy having to replace so many parts right out of the box. Tank, stand and light are working well.

 

[coolcorals]

The drain and return bulkhead holes are a concern also. The drain hole especially is very close to the overflow wall and actually overlaps the silicon sealing the box to the bottom of the tank. Still working with Eddie at Cadlights to resolve this. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Mine were well away from silicone. I'd definitely be concerned about not getting a water tight seal on bulkhead.

 

[coolcorals]

so would you recommend the old koralias over the new ones?

I have both and would recommend both. Depends upon what you're looking for out of a PH.

The older Koralias seem to have a much wider output, but are larger and consume more power (generate heat). I've had this one over two yrs and it's still working great. Did have a time where pump did not always restart after unplugging.

The Koralia Evos have a much more narrow output, low wattage and small size. Plus, they work on wavemakers. The output flow on these does not blow me away, but maybe it's because they're on a larger tank. First units would run backwards, but I think current units come with new bushings. Hydor sent me new bushings for free and they were easy to replace and fixed the problem.

These are the only PHs I've ever had, so my knowledge/experience is very limited.

 

[rcasey2u]

Mine were well away from silicone. I'd definitely be concerned about not getting a water tight seal on bulkhead.

Yes, that's exactly what worried me.
Looks like we had similar problem with the equipment. I got a return pump with a pinwheel impeller. The plumbing was not something I would use. Sump had a broken bottom corner. It had been glued back on, but I will probably put a patch over it just to be safe. Sump definitely needs a bubble tower for the return area. I had heard about the light and did not order it. I don't like halides anyway. The BM skimmer looks good and I have the BM 150 on my other system and it is probably the best skimmer I have ever had. It has the aqua bee pump though and is the reason I bought it. The Atman pumps seem to be problematic. We will see I guess, that's if I ever get all the issues resolved.

 

[AlexR]

Just started a 39G pro that i had sitting around for a while. Umm well actually didnt start it yet but just about finished making a wall unit/stand for it.

I included in the wall/unit things that have always bothered me in the past from other tanks and stands i have owned.

I put a total of 19 electrical outlets in the bottom cabinets. So i can space out timers and such. And i always made a mess of wires, i hope this helps some.
I wired in 2 switches in the unit for 2 exhaust fans (the quiet bathroom type). I out an exhaust fan in the bottom cabinet where the fuge goes and i put one just above the tank, behind the light fixture. You may notice it above my daughters head in the pic.

I made a detachable bottom for the top cabinet so i can get to the entire tank if needed from the top by removing the light fixture. I also put the top flap of the tank on horse hinges for ease of feeding and ect...

Middle bottom cabinet is for fuge as i mentioned. Left bottom cabinet is for reservoir with an AT1 top off, and right bottom cabinet has the chiller and calc reactor in it. Top cabinet i will store food and any other stuff like that, test kits additives, ect.. so my daughter cant get to it.

I am a little worried about chiller being in a cabinet with no exhaust fan... Its a recipe for disaster so i may need to rethink that. But i dont want to add another fan.. its gonna be way too much noise.

Fun part next: PLUMBING....




Here's the pics.

Im really excited to get back into this hobby. Its been quite a while for me since i had a tank. yay

 

[coolcorals]

Yes, that's exactly what worried me.
Looks like we had similar problem with the equipment. I got a return pump with a pinwheel impeller. The plumbing was not something I would use. Sump had a broken bottom corner. It had been glued back on, but I will probably put a patch over it just to be safe. Sump definitely needs a bubble tower for the return area. I had heard about the light and did not order it. I don't like halides anyway. The BM skimmer looks good and I have the BM 150 on my other system and it is probably the best skimmer I have ever had. It has the aqua bee pump though and is the reason I bought it. The Atman pumps seem to be problematic. We will see I guess, that's if I ever get all the issues resolved.

I'd think the silicone would put the BH at an angle making it hard to seal.

I also had an issue with my sump (glass). First one was broken, replacement leaked between the inside baffle panes! Instead of asking for a third, just put another coat of silicone on entire interior.

My plumbing, return pump and skimmer were junk. I'm really happy with the BM. Skims well and easy to tune.

A couple suggestions, if you've not already done so. Cabinet tends to get damp, so add an exhaust fan. I have cherry cabinet, so added a Azoo on the back cutout for plumbing. I also made one of the holes for equipment cables larger, in case I needed to put a transform thru. Finally, I painted the door hinges with 3 or 4 coats of rust resistent paint and replaced the stock screws with stainless steel screws.

My cabinet stays completely dry and there's no rust on hinges or screws (so far)!

 

[coolcorals]

You built that cabinet! Wow! Very nice! Chillers need space for air flow, so I'd be concerned about unit overheating in an enclosed place.

 

[AlexR]

The chiller is an AquaEuroUSA 1/13 HP. Its small but i am sure your right, it needs to vent, just like any AC would.

I just need to think of a way to let it do this without being exposed.

I would love to take the credit for this stand build. But i was more of a helper then a builder. My father came up with the design and did the hard work, like the math and the cutting, i just knew what features and extras were needed from experience.

He's kinda old now so i did the heavy lifting

 

[rcasey2u]

cooolcorals---Sounds like some good suggestions. I will probably do those things if I ever set it up to run independently. I am planning to run it off an existing sump on my other tank at least until I can mod the stock sump or build a new one. Thought I could use the stock sump with mods, but am having second thoughts.

 

[timdanger]

Just started a 39G pro that i had sitting around for

wow, very nice looking. and, plenty of room for stuff!

I do think there has to be some sort of air-in, air-out system for the chiller. there are a lot of quiet fans that you can buy (quieter than the stock cad fans, for sure).

 

[AlexR]

Thanks, yes still never enough room though

I turned on the chiller today for the first time to see exactly how the exhaust is on it.

I think making a hole coming into the middle section that has the exhaust fan installed will do the trick. Just needs some way for the air to get out.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Bubble Magus Skimmer Mods

Bubble Magus Skimmer Mods

I've been struggling to find a way to improve skimmer performance that didn't require removing the 1st section sump divider or replacing the sump. Because I run 2, tanks (DT and FT) heavily stocked with SPS off of the Cadlights sump, I wanted more skimming than the stock BM provides.

I toyed with trying a Tunze DOC 9010 (one of very few higher-performance skimmers that will fit into an unaltered Cadlights sump), but was concerned over it's water level sensitivity and some mixed reviews. As I was researching options, I discovered the SWX Xtreme 120 also runs the Atman 1100 pump, but has available a mesh needle-wheel and larger venturi. Needless to say I ordered both along with a new pump to test (I'm glad I ordered the new pump as the venturi fitting on the BM pump is machined smaller and would not accept the larger Xtreme venturi.)

I also replaced the stock air line with a larger diameter 3/8" PVC drain line to reduce back pressure and allow the larger venturi to "breath" better.

I cleaned the skimmer when I replaced the pump, and it will take a bit for the new pump to get broken in but so far, there is a marked improvement. It's only a few days into my test and I don't have a flow meter, but with these modifications, the entire water column from the bubble plate to the top of the collection cup is milky-white froth, far denser than the stock configuration. Another benefit is that so far, I haven't had any restarting issues that plagued the BM Atman version.

The only downside I see is the needle wheel *may* be more prone to clogging and require more maintenance as it is much denser (hence the increased air pull) than the stock BM pinwheel. For those looking for an easy way to squeeze more performance from the BM skimmer - this is simple, inexpensive and so far is working very well.

I'll snap a few pictures once everything is rocking.

 

[DanMgy]

Just started a 39G pro that i had sitting around for a while. Umm well actually didnt start it yet but just about finished making a wall unit/stand for it.

The stand is absolutely amazing, did you build it by yourself? I am just finishing building a stand out, curious what kind of work and finish you used?

 

[timdanger]

I've been struggling to find a way to improve skimmer performance that didn't require removing the 1st section sump divider or replacing the sump. Because I run 2, tanks (DT and FT) heavily stocked with SPS off of the Cadlights sump, I wanted more skimming than the stock BM provides.

I toyed with trying a Tunze DOC 9010 (one of very few higher-performance skimmers that will fit into an unaltered Cadlights sump), but was concerned over it's water level sensitivity and some mixed reviews. As I was researching options, I discovered the SWX Xtreme 120 also runs the Atman 1100 pump, but has available a mesh needle-wheel and larger venturi. Needless to say I ordered both along with a new pump to test (I'm glad I ordered the new pump as the venturi fitting on the BM pump is machined smaller and would not accept the larger Xtreme venturi.)

I also replaced the stock air line with a larger diameter 3/8" PVC drain line to reduce back pressure and allow the larger venturi to "breath" better.

I cleaned the skimmer when I replaced the pump, and it will take a bit for the new pump to get broken in but so far, there is a marked improvement. It's only a few days into my test and I don't have a flow meter, but with these modifications, the entire water column from the bubble plate to the top of the collection cup is milky-white froth, far denser than the stock configuration. Another benefit is that so far, I haven't had any restarting issues that plagued the BM Atman version.

The only downside I see is the needle wheel *may* be more prone to clogging and require more maintenance as it is much denser (hence the increased air pull) than the stock BM pinwheel. For those looking for an easy way to squeeze more performance from the BM skimmer - this is simple, inexpensive and so far is working very well.

I'll snap a few pictures once everything is rocking.

interesting -- how much did that run you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[reeftivo]

I've been struggling to find a way to improve skimmer performance that didn't require removing the 1st section sump divider or replacing the sump. Because I run 2, tanks (DT and FT) heavily stocked with SPS off of the Cadlights sump, I wanted more skimming than the stock BM provides.

I toyed with trying a Tunze DOC 9010 (one of very few higher-performance skimmers that will fit into an unaltered Cadlights sump), but was concerned over it's water level sensitivity and some mixed reviews. As I was researching options, I discovered the SWX Xtreme 120 also runs the Atman 1100 pump, but has available a mesh needle-wheel and larger venturi. Needless to say I ordered both along with a new pump to test (I'm glad I ordered the new pump as the venturi fitting on the BM pump is machined smaller and would not accept the larger Xtreme venturi.)

I also replaced the stock air line with a larger diameter 3/8" PVC drain line to reduce back pressure and allow the larger venturi to "breath" better.

I cleaned the skimmer when I replaced the pump, and it will take a bit for the new pump to get broken in but so far, there is a marked improvement. It's only a few days into my test and I don't have a flow meter, but with these modifications, the entire water column from the bubble plate to the top of the collection cup is milky-white froth, far denser than the stock configuration. Another benefit is that so far, I haven't had any restarting issues that plagued the BM Atman version.

The only downside I see is the needle wheel *may* be more prone to clogging and require more maintenance as it is much denser (hence the increased air pull) than the stock BM pinwheel. For those looking for an easy way to squeeze more performance from the BM skimmer - this is simple, inexpensive and so far is working very well.

I'll snap a few pictures once everything is rocking.

The 120 only pulls about 9 to 10 scfh stock (256-280lph) and didn't perform well for me unless I slowed the flow through the sump to about 500 gph.

I didn't want that low of a turnover so I opted to shelve mine. Let us know how it works out. You should be getting at least 12 scfh from that mod.

IMO the 120 is better suited for more air anyways. They are SILENT skimmers and built like little tanks!

Looking forward to some pics.



Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

interesting -- how much did that run you, if you don't mind me asking?

Sorry for hijacking your question to calmseasquest but I think they run around $200 TO $225. I can't remember what I paid for mine, but mine was a pre order when they first came out and they were a little cheaper during the pre-order

Tivo

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

interesting -- how much did that run you, if you don't mind me asking?

The hybrid (mesh) impeller and larger venturi were $35, the replacement Atman 1100 was about $40 (I needed to replace the stock pump anyway as it failed to restart whenever stopped.) The larger air line I had on hand - left over from a BRS reactor install.

The 120 only pulls about 9 to 10 scfh stock (256-280lph) and didn't perform well for me unless I slowed the flow through the sump to about 500 gph.

I didn't want that low of a turnover so I opted to shelve mine. Let us know how it works out. You should be getting at least 12 scfh from that mod.

IMO the 120 is better suited for more air anyways. They are SILENT skimmers and built like little tanks!

Looking forward to some pics.

Tivo

My original post might have been confusing - I didn't replace the BM skimmer, I simply modded it with the pump, impeller and larger venturi from the 120. So far it *looks* to be a significant improvement, but without a flow meter, I'm just guessing. Time will tell...

 

[AlexR]

The stand is absolutely amazing, did you build it by yourself? I am just finishing building a stand out, curious what kind of work and finish you used?

Thanks.

I used melamine for most of the unit, which is the same type of wood that kitchen cabinets are made out of. We finished it with a cherry wood formica.

I used marine plywood for areas that are in direct contact with the tank. And i used 3/4" MDF for the base counter.

 

[AlexR]

can anyone tell me if these bulbs will fit in the 39Pro system lighting fixture?

https://www.petsolutions.com/UVL-T5-V-HO-454nm-Actinic+I24444548.aspx

 

[schnitm]

With the light 30" above the tank the view is great, but that glass top detracted.

Had to try a bird net top.

Really like this! Came out much better than expected.

In person it's hardly there and you have a clear view from above.